4. Montana

Iheaded through the sweeping valley to re-join the group by the truck, carrying a gallon of milk to feed Callie and Julius on our journey. It wasn’t much, but most of Chickoa’s food stores had been lost to the blazing fire of her home. And hopefully it would keep them nourished until we found more supplies.

As I arrived back in the yard, I spotted Callie and Magnar returning from the trees. I halted nervously, waiting for them to approach, the tension in the air building as the others stood to attention.

Magnar’s eyes swivelled between us then landed on his brother. In a surge of movement, he rushed toward Julius, stopping before him abruptly. Magnar’s jaw was set and an intensity blazed in his eyes that made me anxious.

“Are you...” Julius trailed off, unsure of how to finish that sentence and I could see the torment in his eyes over his brother’s curse.

“I’m going to remain this way for now. We’ll head to the mountain,” Magnar growled, his tone even deeper than it had been as a mortal.

Julius’s shoulders dropped and he lurched forward to wrap his arms around Magnar.

Magnar fell stock still and I could tell the thirst was gripping him.

I jogged toward Callie with a frown lining my features. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” she sighed, though shadows ringed her eyes, speaking of all she was dealing with internally. “But he won’t drink.”

I knew Magnar was strong. He’d fight it. But it was only a matter of time before he would simply have to submit to it. It wasn’t something I would have wished on anyone, but the slayers most of all. They had spent their lives fighting the vampires. To become one of them must have been torture.

Fabian turned in our direction, evidently hearing her. “I’m not letting you in that truck with him until he’s had some blood.”

“Then we’ll be here all year,” Callie snapped. “He’s not going to drink. He can handle it.”

“What do you know about it?” Fabian hissed and I prepared to get between them as she squared her shoulders. “You haven’t the faintest clue of how demanding the thirst is. He won’t have a choice in it if he waits too long. And every second he puts it off, the more likely it is that he’ll lose his mind and bite you. Better to do it now before he becomes a starved animal who is unable to control himself.”

“I am not like you,” Magnar called, striding toward us at a fierce pace. “I wouldn’t drink blood even if the thirst ripped me apart from the inside out.”

“You’re wrong,” Clarice said gently, inching closer. “You can fight it for a while, Magnar. But you’d be a fool to put Callie at risk when we have bottles of blood at hand. Surely that’s better than biting her or Julius?”

Magnar’s eyes scraped over her and a tremor rolled down my spine at his fierce expression. Were they about to fight?

“I’m not drinking like a parasite,” he snarled at her and I caught sight of his fangs. The others noticed too and Magnar suddenly realised it, turning sharply away from us.

“He won’t do it,” Callie reiterated and Fabian cursed in frustration.

Erik stepped out of the truck, his eyes endlessly dark. “Magnar, get in the front. The rest of you in the back. Now. We’re leaving.”

“But Magnar-” Fabian started and Erik’s glare swung onto him.

“If he won’t drink, he won’t fucking drink,” Erik snapped and a shudder ran through me at his tone. “And we can’t waste any more time here. Valentina is probably on her way already.”

“He’s right. Let’s go,” Clarice said firmly and everyone moved toward the truck, filing inside.

I placed the gallon of milk in the trunk as Chickoa hurried after us. She’d gathered water from a well for the humans and she quickly put the bottles in the back of the truck with the rest of our meagre supplies. I moved to the side door, climbing inside and sitting down next to Callie, relaxing at the easy closeness of my twin. Chickoa jumped in and dropped down beside Fabian, not seeming to have noticed who she’d sat next to until it was too late to move.

Magnar shot around the front of the truck and got into the passenger seat beside Erik. He slammed the door and the whole vehicle rocked sideways.

“Fucking hell,” Erik cursed under his breath.

“Sorry I...” Magnar trailed off, his shoulders hunching as he shifted away from the door.

As the truck stopped swaying, I turned to Callie beside me. “He’ll get used to it,” she whispered to me and I nodded, praying she was right.

Fabian’s hands were curled into fists as he gazed at the back of Magnar’s head in concern. After the punch Magnar had landed on him, I didn’t think he’d be able to take him on even if he wanted to. It frightened me that if Magnar lost control to the bloodlust, we might not be able to subdue him.

Erik started the truck, but he didn’t drive forward and I noticed his gaze was lingering on the spot where Miles and Warren had died. I leaned forward to rest a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged me off and kicked the vehicle into gear, speeding up the road.

I sank back into my seat as I fought away the hurt at his reaction and settled for gazing out of the window as the world sailed by.

Callie glanced my way with a frown, taking hold of my hand. I gave her a taut smile, blinking back tears as I returned my gaze to the road.

The rain started hammering down from the clouds and I watched as the droplets slid across the glass in swirling patterns. My heart hurt from the loss of Miles and Warren. I pictured their faces before they’d died and the tears spilled down my cheeks. They’d loved each other so much, how was it fair that they’d been taken like that?

A tense silence fell over us all as we left the farm behind and Erik turned the vehicle south onto a long stretch of road. A road that could lead to our salvation or our demise. We had nothing left but each other and a single destination in mind. And I prayed we’d make it there soon.

The day went by at a painfully slow pace. The quiet hanging over us was rarely broken, but occasionally Callie and I would check the directions to the mountain using the ring and Erik would silently follow our instructions.

We’d already driven so many miles from the farm that the landscape around us was changing, growing more barren as we headed towards a towering mountain range on the horizon.

Evidence of the Final War was everywhere around us. Huge craters were all that remained of entire towns and we often had to weave off of the broken road and find a winding path forward through rubble and wreckage. I absorbed the sight of the world I’d always wondered about in quiet contemplation. Under any other circumstances, I would have been thrilled to explore the rolling landscapes that I’d dreamed about back in our Realm. But I couldn’t capture any of the excitement I should have felt at seeing such places for the first time in my life. It was as if the world had a taint to it now, a shadow that wouldn’t lift.

We finally made it back onto a stretch of road that was still intact and Erik picked up the pace again. We’d lost hours by diverting through a cluster of ruins and the sun had long since set, leaving us in total darkness.

As we rose onto a high mountain pass, I tried to get some rest, leaning back against the window and shutting my eyes. The thirst prickled at my throat and it was impossible to ignore it. I’d been trying to refrain from drinking in front of Magnar, having forgotten to do so back at the farm like the others had. But now, claws were starting to rip at my tongue as my body demanded to be fed.

I took a shuddering breath, knowing Magnar must have felt ten times worse than I did right now. And Erik hadn’t drunk anything either as far as I recalled. Since I’d been turned, I’d not had to weather out the thirst for longer than a few hours, but I was determined to wait until I could do so away from Magnar. If he smelled blood, he might lose control and I wouldn’t risk him hurting Callie or Julius.

The trail was long and winding through the mountains, but eventually we started descending from them once more, reaching a rocky plain of land beyond them. We continued on and on into the night and Callie fell asleep against my shoulder, rocking gently with each bump of the truck. Julius and Clarice had drifted off too, their shoulders holding each other upright as they sat side by side.

Fabian continually looked between my sister and Magnar and I had to admire his determination to keep watch despite how badly his intervention had gone last time. Occasionally, his eyes met mine through the gloom and I felt a silent understanding passing between us. If Magnar lost control, we would be ready to keep him away from Callie and Julius together.

Chickoa took the photo of her husband out of her pocket, gazing at it a while, her brow creasing with lines. “Thanks for getting me this,” she whispered to Fabian, glancing up at him.

He nodded stiffly. “Memories are all we’ve got in the end.”

She frowned at him, turning her gaze back to the picture and it suddenly pained me that I didn’t have one of my father. I knew his face as well as my own, but the idea of having such a permanent reminder of him filled me with longing. Was that image in my mind going to fade one day? Would I eventually struggle to capture the way his mouth twisted at the corner when he smiled, or how those little creases formed beside his eyes?

“Why did you do it?” Chickoa asked him, her eyes narrowing as she stared at Fabian, trying to decipher his actions.

“I just...knew how much it meant to you,” Fabian muttered, clearing his throat.

A clunking noise sounded beneath us and the truck juddered disconcertingly.

“No – fuck – no,” Erik growled, slamming his palm against the wheel.

The others jerked awake as the truck stuttered to a halt and Erik thumped his fist into the dashboard.

“What’s wrong?” Magnar asked him.

“We’re out of charge,” Erik revealed and my gut plummeted.

“How do we get...charge?” Magnar asked, clearly confused by the meaning of that word.

“We don’t,” Erik snapped, throwing the door open and stepping outside before slamming it behind him. He gazed up at the sky and roared his anger and my heart squeezed with anxiety.

I glanced between the others, their pale faces angled toward me.

“You better go talk to him,” Fabian urged, sliding the side door open and gesturing for me to get out. “We’ll work on a plan.”

I gritted my jaw, rising from my seat, but Callie caught my hand.

I glanced back at her, finding her expression desperate. “We’ll figure this out,” she said.

I nodded, taking comfort from her words as I stepped out of the truck. Fabian promptly shut the door behind me and I threw a scowl back at him as he waved me on.

Erik had wandered further into the dusty field ahead of us, the land barren and stretching out endlessly in every direction.

He clawed his hands into his hair as he continued to stare up at the sky above, now sprinkled with stars.

I moved after him at a slow pace, trying to get my thoughts in line. What was I supposed to say? Did Fabian actually expect me to talk him down from this rage? We were stuck in the middle of nowhere and were still hundreds of miles away from the holy mountain. Hell, I was pissed off at our situation.

I chewed on my lower lip, moving across the field. My boots crunched on a plant which must have been dead for years and Erik turned, spotting me.

All the words in my head jumbled together until I found myself just standing there, totally void of words.

“I’m coming back,” he snarled. “Just give me a minute.”

I chewed harder on my lip and broke the skin with my fangs. The hunger in me was getting out of hand and even my own blood was starting to taste appetising.

I gazed at his dark expression as he warned me not to approach. I took a slow breath to ease away the stab of rejection, focusing on what he needed instead.

“Okay,” I said, turning to head back to the road with a crushing tightness in my chest.

“Wait,” he called and I shut my eyes, basking in the hope that hung on that word.

I didn’t turn back, but I halted, waiting for him to approach. I felt him closing in behind me and his fingers brushed my back, sending electricity darting through to my core.

He circled around until he stood before me, reaching out to wipe away the blood staining my lip with his thumb.

He eyed me for a painfully long second then moved forward and wrapped me in his arms. He buried his face in my neck and I just stood there, holding him tighter and tighter, hoping it would help piece together the broken shards of his heart.

We remained there for what felt like an eternity, the scent of cypress and rain rising from him and enveloping me in its familiarity. I could almost feel the Earth turning beneath my feet and the night sky sweeping by overhead. We were the most solid place in the centre of the universe and I just hoped we could hold onto the anchor we made between us.

“Drink. No questions,” Erik commanded at last, stepping away from me, a dark mask sliding into place over his features. He turned me around, pushing me back toward the truck and it took me a few more steps to realise he wasn’t following.

Fabian slid the door open as I arrived and everyone else spilled out of the truck after him.

“What’s the plan?” I sighed, moving to the trunk and popping it open.

“We walk,” Clarice said with a broad yawn. Though she’d gotten some rest, there was still a heaviness in her eyes that said she was exhausted.

I took a bottle of blood from the stash, glancing around to check if Magnar was watching me. He’d walked into the field, approaching Erik and I stole the moment away from him to swallow the contents of the bottle. The sweet, metallic blood rolled down my throat and loosened the vice around it, making my thoughts align once more.

The other vampires moved forward eagerly, quickly drinking a bottle each, throwing wary glances over their shoulders at Magnar.

“He can cope,” Callie insisted.

“Not forever,” I said gently, my own worries clawing at me.

I trusted Magnar, but we didn’t know for sure if he could trust himself right now. And with his added slayer strength...who knew what he was capable of?

Luckily the wind was blowing away from Magnar and he didn’t look at us as we threw the empty bottles back in the trunk and closed it.

I realised it was the first time I’d drunk in front of Callie and I eyed her with a frown. She didn’t seem to notice, her gaze drifting to Magnar and Erik out in the field.

“So we have to leave the truck here, I guess?” Julius said, folding his arms.

Clarice looked at the vehicle with a sullen nod. “What other choice do we have?”

“We could search for a power source?” Chickoa suggested, though as her eyes dragged across the barren landscape, no one needed to mention that there was no chance of us finding any such thing out here.

Julius stiffened, reaching for Menace at his hip and Callie’s hand went to Fury. I mimicked them as I touched Nightmare and a tingle ran through my hand.

Familiar!

I stiffened, searching the skies and the vampires caught on as they turned their attention to our surroundings too.

“Shit,” Julius snarled. “Hey Magnar!” he called. “Valentina’s fucking watching us.”

Magnar and Erik started running back to meet us, appearing at the edge of the group in seconds.

“Do you think she’s close?” Clarice asked nervously.

“It’s just a scout,” Fabian growled, pointing out a large bird swooping through the sky far above us. “She’s not near or we’d know by now.”

“Can we take it out?” Callie asked, lifting Fury as if to throw it.

“It’s too high,” Fabian said.

“Not for me,” Magnar growled, snatching Fury from Callie’s hand. He leaned back, launching it into the sky with such strength that it tore through the air like a bullet.

A faint screech sounded from above then Fury pelted back toward the earth.

“Shit!” Clarice cried, lurching aside as it plummeted toward her. Magnar leapt upwards and snatched it out of the air, flipping it in his palm and handing it back to Callie as he landed. His movements were so fluid, so graceful, it somehow didn’t add up with his immense size.

“Thanks,” she breathed, her eyes wide.

“That was fucking insane,” Julius said, his mouth going slack.

Magnar grunted then his eyes slid to the trunk of the vehicle, and he took a wary step back.

“Drink,” I urged but he shook his head harshly.

“You’re gonna kill us all if you don’t,” Erik snarled at him.

“He’s fine,” Callie insisted. “Aren’t you?” she asked him and Magnar nodded firmly.

“Come on, let’s pack up and start walking,” Clarice said, popping the trunk again. She zipped up the bag of bottles, placing it on her back and Julius moved to carry the water and milk.

I took Nightmare into my grip, comforted by its presence now we knew Valentina was still hunting us. A ripple of energy rolled through me as I wondered how close she was, how soon we might have to fight for our lives again.

When we’d gathered everything onto our backs, Erik took the lead, heading down the endless road ahead of us. I steeled myself for the journey before us, knowing it was going to be rough. But there was a blessed gift waiting at the end of it. We just had to make it there as fast as we could, then everything would be right again.